ScienceDaily Environment Headlines
for Friday, September 19, 2008
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New Mechanism For Cardiac Arrhythmia Discovered (September 19, 2008) -- Virus infections can cause cardiac arrhythmia. Scientists have now discovered the molecular mechanism. They have demonstrated that the receptor which the virus uses to infect heart cells is normally necessary for regular heart beat. Likewise, when the receptor is absent, arrhythmia occurs. The researchers assume that the virus infection and the autoimmune disease can block the receptor which disrupts the heart's normal rhythm. ... > full story
Genes Capable Of Regulating Stem Cell Function Identified (September 19, 2008) -- An animal model provides insight on pathways used for adult tissue maintenance and regeneration; system for studying relationship between stem cells and cancer. Scientists have developed a new system in which to study known mammalian adult stem cell disorders. This research, conducted with the flatworm planaria, highlights the genetic similarity between these invertebrates and mammals in the mechanisms by which stem cell regulatory pathways are used during adult tissue maintenance and regeneration. ... > full story
Ship-induced Waves Affect Snails, Crabs And Insect Larvae In Sandy Lakes And Rivers (September 19, 2008) -- Snails, crabs, insect larvae - the shores of rivers and lakes are populated by thousands of small animals that play an important role in the food chain of the freshwater ecosystem. They eat the leaves which fall into the water, among other things, and help keep the waters clean. Scientists are now studying the impact that ship-induced waves can have on these small animals. ... > full story
Scientists Behind 'Doomsday Seed Vault' Ready World's Crops For Climate Change (September 18, 2008) -- As climate change is credited as one of the main drivers behind soaring food prices, the Global Crop Diversity Trust is undertaking a major effort to search crop collections -- from Azerbaijan to Nigeria -- for the traits that could arm agriculture against the impact of future changes. Traits, such as drought resistance in wheat, or salinity tolerance in potato, will become essential as crops around the world have to adapt to new climate conditions. ... > full story
Doppler On Wheels Deployed At Hurricane Ike (September 18, 2008) -- The only scientific team to successfully brave Hurricane Ike's knock-down winds and swells in Galveston was the DOW, the Doppler on Wheels mobile weather radar operated by the Center for Severe Weather Research in Boulder, Colo. ... > full story
Nitrate Concentrations Of Ground Water Increasing In Many Areas Of The United States (September 18, 2008) -- A nationwide study of nitrate trends in the ground water of the United States was recently completed by scientists at the US Geological Survey. Nitrate is the most common chemical contaminant found in ground water, and is related to infant health and possible cancer risks. The study focused on 24 well networks in the US from 1988 to 2004, of which seven well networks showed statistically significant increases in concentrations of nitrate during this period. ... > full story
Small Glaciers -- Not Large -- Account For Most Of Greenland's Recent Loss Of Ice, Study Shows (September 18, 2008) -- The recent dramatic melting and breakup of a few huge Greenland glaciers have fueled public concerns over the impact of global climate change, but that isn't the island's biggest problem. A new study shows that the dozens of much smaller outflow glaciers dotting Greenland's coast together account for three times more loss from the island's ice sheet than the amount coming from their huge relatives. ... > full story
It’s All In The Hips: Early Whales Used Well Developed Back Legs For Swimming, Fossils Show (September 18, 2008) -- The crashing of the enormous fluked tail on the surface of the ocean is a "calling card" of modern whales. Living whales have no back legs, and their front legs take the form of flippers that allow them to steer. Their special tails provide the powerful thrust necessary to move their huge bulk. Yet this has not always been the case. Now newly found fossils from Alabama and Mississippi that pinpoint where tail flukes developed in the evolution of whales. ... > full story
Blanket Ban On Bushmeat Could Be Disastrous For Forest Dwellers In Central Africa, Says New Report (September 18, 2008) -- A new report from the Center for International Forestry Research, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and partners warns that an upsurge in hunting bushmeat -- including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians -- in tropical forests is unsustainable, and that it poses serious threats to food security for poor inhabitants of forests in Africa, who rely largely on bushmeat for protein. ... > full story
Almost 7 Million Pregnant In Sub-Saharan Africa Infected With Hookworms (September 18, 2008) -- A new study reveals that between a quarter and a third of pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, or almost 7 million, are infected with hookworms and at increased risk of developing anemia. ... > full story
Scavenger Birds Chew The Fat (September 18, 2008) -- Humans aren't the only ones who like fatty foods -- bearded vultures do, too. The bearded vulture will discard less energy-dense bones and choose only the bones containing the highest fat content both for its consumption and delivery to its young. ... > full story
Researchers Suppress 'Hunger Hormone' In Pigs: New Minimally Invasive Method Yields Result As Good As Bariatric Surgery (September 18, 2008) -- Johns Hopkins scientists report success in significantly suppressing levels of the "hunger hormone" ghrelin in pigs using a minimally invasive means of chemically vaporizing the main vessel carrying blood to the top section, or fundus, of the stomach. An estimated 90 percent of the body's ghrelin originates in the fundus, which can't make the hormone without a good blood supply. ... > full story
Viral 'Magic Bullet' Targets Cancer Cells With Help Of New Compound (September 18, 2008) -- Researchers report a significant breakthrough in the use of viruses to target and destroy cancer cells, a field known as oncolytic virotherapy. ... > full story
Developing Pea Varieties Tolerant Of Drought And Effects Of Climate Change (September 18, 2008) -- New research could help breeders to develop pea varieties able to withstand drought stress and climate change. The research also shows that the composition of crops is likely to change with the climate. ... > full story
Improving Our Ability To Peek Inside Molecules (September 18, 2008) -- It's not easy to see a single molecule inside a living cell. Nevertheless, researchers are developing a new technique that will enable them to create detailed high-resolution images, giving scientists an unprecedented look at the atomic structure of cellular molecules. ... > full story
The Greening Of Sub-Saharan Africa (September 18, 2008) -- The green revolution that has led to food being far more abundant now than forty years ago in South America and Asia has all-but bypasses Sub-Saharan Africa as that region's population trebled over that time period. Now, researchers in The Netherlands point to possible causes for this disparity and offer hope of reversing the trend based on a technological approach. ... > full story
Significant Increase In Alien Plants In Europe Observed (September 18, 2008) -- The number of alien plant species has more than tripled over the last 25 years. This is the finding of a study by European scientists who evaluated the data from 48 European countries and regions. A total of 5789 plant species were classified as alien. Of these, 2843 originating outside of Europe, according to the researchers. By contrast, in 1980 only 1568 alien species were registered. ... > full story
Bovine Mastitis: Could A Vaccine Be On The Way? (September 18, 2008) -- It is the most common infectious disease in farmed animals. Around one million cases occur each year in the UK. It is painful, occasionally life threatening, and costs the dairy industry £200m every year in lost production and treatments. Within the UK alone it has been estimated that around 12m doses of antibiotic are used annually to control and treat mastitis in cattle. ... > full story
Even If Greenhouse Gas Emissions Hold Steady, Warmer World Faces Loss Of Biodiversity, Glaciers (September 17, 2008) -- Even if greenhouse gas emissions are fixed at 2005 levels, a new analysis shows that irreversible warming will lead to biodiversity loss and substantial glacial melt. ... > full story
Drinking Water: The Need For Constant Innovation (September 17, 2008) -- Most western countries' drinking water is of excellent quality, but there is no room for complacency. The challenges are growing: undesirable contaminants are found in rivers, lakes and groundwater. Climate change is also warming waterbodies, with implications for water quality, and in developing countries more and more people are reliant on groundwater containing natural contaminants. In industrialized countries water utilities are aging and need to be renewed. ... > full story
High Grain Prices Are Likely Here To Stay (September 17, 2008) -- An ethanol-fueled spike in grain prices will likely hold, yielding the first sustained increase for corn, wheat and soybean prices in more than three decades, according to new research. ... > full story
Fastest Flights In Nature: High-speed Spore Discharge Mechanisms Among Fungi (September 17, 2008) -- Microscopic coprophilous (dung-loving fungi) make our planet habitable by degrading the billions of tons of feces produced by herbivores. But the fungi have a problem: survival depends upon the consumption of their spores by herbivores and few animals will graze on grass next to their own dung. Evolution has overcome this obstacle by producing mechanisms of spore discharge whose elegance transforms a cow pie into a circus of microscopic catapults, trampolines and squirt guns. ... > full story
Giant Grass Offers Clues To Growing Corn In Cooler Climes, Researchers Report (September 17, 2008) -- A giant perennial grass used as a biofuels source has a much longer growing season than corn, and researchers think they've found the secret of its success. Their findings should help develop cold-tolerant corn, significantly boosting per-acre yields. ... > full story
Roman York Skeleton Could Be Early TB Victim (September 17, 2008) -- The skeleton of a man discovered by archaeologists in a shallow grave on the site of the University of York's campus expansion could be that of one of Britain's earliest victims of tuberculosis. ... > full story
Houses Made Of Hemp Could Help Combat Climate Change (September 17, 2008) -- Houses made of hemp, timber or straw could help combat climate change by reducing the carbon footprint of building construction, according to researchers at the University of Bath. ... > full story
Breakthrough In Energy Storage: New Carbon Material Shows Promise Of Storing Large Quantities Of Renewable Electrical Energy (September 17, 2008) -- Engineers and scientists have achieved a breakthrough in the use of a one-atom thick structure called "graphene" as a new carbon-based material for storing electrical charge in ultracapacitor devices, perhaps paving the way for the massive installation of renewable energies such as wind and solar power. ... > full story
Fantastic Photographs Of Fluorescent Fish (September 17, 2008) -- Scientists have discovered that certain fish are capable of glowing red. Research in BMC Ecology includes striking images of fish fluorescing vivid red light. ... > full story
Is Re-emerging Superbug The Next MRSA? (September 17, 2008) -- Physicians are issuing a warning that Clostridium difficile, a virulent strain of an intestinal bacteria, is currently plaguing hospitals and now rivals the superbug Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus as a top disease threat to humans. The little-known bacteria appears to be the next emerging disease threat, killing 1,000s in the United States. ... > full story
Oil Palm Plantations Are No Substitute For Tropical Rainforests, New Study Shows (September 17, 2008) -- The continued expansion of oil palm plantations will worsen the dual environmental crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, unless rainforests are better protected, warn scientists in the most comprehensive review of the subject to date. ... > full story
Why Some Primates, But Not Humans, Can Live With Immunodeficiency Viruses And Not Progress To AIDS (September 17, 2008) -- Some primate species, including sooty mangabeys, harbor simian immunodeficiency viruses but remain healthy, unlike rhesus macaques. The immune systems of sooty mangabeys become significantly less activated during SIV infection than the immune systems of macaques. The less vigorous immune response to SIV in mangabeys may be an effective evolutionary response to a virus that resists clearance by antiviral immune responses. New treatment strategies that would steer the immune system away from over-activation could protect against the unintended damage caused by host immune responses. ... > full story
Earth Structure: Lowermost Mantle Has Materials With Unexpected Properties (September 17, 2008) -- Materials deep inside Earth have unexpected atomic properties that might force earth scientists to revise their models of Earth's internal processes. Recreating in the lab materials they believe exist in the lowermost mantle 2,900 kilometers below Earth's surface, researchers say the materials exhibit unexpected atomic properties that might influence how heat is transferred within Earth's mantle, how superplumes form, and how the magnetic field and heat generated in Earth's core travel to the planet's surface. ... > full story
Mice Missing 'Fear' Gene Slow To Protect Offspring (September 17, 2008) -- First, he discovered a gene that controls innate fear in animals. Now Rutgers geneticist Gleb Shumyatsky has shown that the same gene promotes "helicopter mom" behavior in mice. The gene, known as stathmin or oncoprotein 18, motivates female animals to protect newborn pups and interact cautiously with unknown peers. Shumyatsky's newest finding could enhance our understanding of human anxiety, including part-partum depression and borderline personality disorders. ... > full story
Whale Songs Are Heard For First Time Around New York City Waters (September 17, 2008) -- For the first time in waters surrounding New York City, the beckoning calls of endangered fin, humpback and North Atlantic right whales have been recorded. ... > full story
Innovative Hydrogen-powered Car Created (September 17, 2008) -- As the price of gasoline fuel soars, and concerns grow about the impact of car culture on the environment, a team of scientists have come up with a hydrogen-powered car, which they believe is a significant step forward in creating a mass-produced green machine. ... > full story
New Mechanism To Produce Energy From Biomass (September 17, 2008) -- Scientists have developed a system that can improve the efficiency of the conversion process of biomass to fuel gas that will contribute to the production of energy in a more sustainable manner. ... > full story
New Clues To Oxygen At The Origin Of The Solar System (September 17, 2008) -- Oxygen is the most abundant element on Earth, accounting for almost half the planet's mass. Of its three stable isotopes, oxygen 16 makes up 99.762 percent of oxygen on Earth, while heavier oxygen 17 accounts for just 0.038 percent, and the heaviest isotope, oxygen 18, makes up 0.2 percent. Yet minerals in some of the most primitive objects in the solar system, including the meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites, have quite different ratios of oxygen isotopes than on Earth; presumably the rare heavy isotopes occurred in much greater abundances in the early solar system. ... > full story
Moderate Quantities Of Dirt Make More Rain (September 17, 2008) -- Drought or deluge? Scientists have now discovered how aerosols affect the when, where and how much of rainfall. ... > full story
Bovine Colostrum And Fermented Cabbage Can Help Restrict Infections (September 17, 2008) -- Antibodies extracted from bovine colostrum as well as lactobacilli extracted from fermented cabbage and other sources prevent the action of pathogenic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. ... > full story
Drinking Chamomile Tea May Help Fight Complications Of Diabetes (September 16, 2008) -- Drinking chamomile tea daily with meals may help prevent the complications of diabetes, which include loss of vision, nerve damage, and kidney damage, researchers in Japan and the United Kingdom are reporting. ... > full story
Biological Selenium Removal: Solution To Pollution? (September 16, 2008) -- Unsafe levels of selenium, sometimes referred to as an "essential toxin," can be reduced by a microbiological treatment. With this method, microorganisms reduce selenate to the less-toxic elemental selenium, which can potentially be recovered from the process. An estimated 0.5 to 1 billion people worldwide suffer from selenium deficiency, even though many live near areas where levels of selenium have reached toxic levels. ... > full story
Photosynthesizing Bacteria With A Day-night Cycle Contain Rare Chromosome (September 16, 2008) -- Researchers sequencing the DNA of the blue-green algae Cyanothece 51142 found a linear chromosome harboring genes important for producing biofuels. Simultaneously analyzing the complement of proteins revealed more genes on the linear and typical circular chromosomes then they'd have found with DNA sequencing alone. ... > full story
Water Purification Down The Nanotubes: Could Nanotechnology Solve The Water Crisis? (September 16, 2008) -- Nanotechnology could be the answer to ensuring a safe supply of drinking water for regions of the world stricken by periodic drought or where water contamination is rife. Writing in the International Journal of Nuclear Desalination, researchers in India explain how carbon nanotubes could replace conventional materials in water-purification systems. ... > full story
New Rechargeable Lithium Batteries Could Jump-start Hybrid Electric Car Efficiency (September 16, 2008) -- Researchers are helping to develop new rechargeable batteries that could improve hybrid electric cars in the future. For hybrid cars, new materials are crucial to make the batteries lighter, safer and more efficient in storing energy. ... > full story
Fuel Emissions From Marine Vessels Remain A Global Concern (September 16, 2008) -- The forecast for clear skies and smooth sailing for oceanic vessels has been impeded by worldwide concerns of their significant contributions to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that impact the Earth's climate. ... > full story
New Ant Species Discovered In The Amazon Likely Represents Oldest Living Lineage Of Ants (September 16, 2008) -- A new species of blind, subterranean, predatory ant discovered in the Amazon rainforest is likely a descendant of the very first ants to evolve. ... > full story
Automated System Provides Early Warning Of Natural Disasters (September 16, 2008) -- When disaster threatens, the first hours are crucial. Researchers have developed an automated system to provide early detection, forecasting, and warning of natural disasters such as floods and wildfires. ... > full story
Arctic Sea Ice At Lowest Recorded Level Ever (September 16, 2008) -- Arctic sea ice may well have reached its lowest volumes ever, as summer ice coverage of the Arctic Sea looks set to be close to last year's record lows, with thinner ice overall. Final figures on minimum ice coverage for 2008 are expected in a matter of days, but they are already flirting with last year's record low of 1.59 million square miles, or 4.13 million square kilometers. ... > full story
Slicing Solar Power Costs: New Method Cuts Waste In Making Most Efficient Solar Cells (September 16, 2008) -- Engineers have devised a new way to slice thin wafers of the chemical element germanium for use in the most efficient type of solar power cells. They say the new method should lower the cost of such cells by reducing the waste and breakage of the brittle semiconductor. ... > full story
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